Sins of The Storm

Chapter One-Questions (Best) Left Unanswered

Dim light reached his sight as he blinked his eyes open slowly. The world was a misty blur around him, and his head was as heavy as a stone. Dizzily, he tried to push himself up, but he fell back with a loud thud. Groaning in annoyance, he shook himself, trying to clear his head that was whirling like crazy, filled with thousand bits of small fragments. Sharp pain shot through his body at the movement, making him let out a yelp.

Suddenly, the tom heard pawsteps from behind him. He tried to turn his head so he could see who they belonged to, but as he did so, another wave of dizziness gripped him, clouding his vision.

"Oh, you're finally awake!" An excited voice rang through the air. The tom winced at the sound. It was so loud that it made his ears hurt, though the words didn't even reach him completely. He wanted to snap at the stranger, but only a raspy, ragged cough came out.

"I was starting to think that you would never wake up!" The stranger continued, stepping into his line of sight. He could only stare at the cat blankly as she sat down in front of him, eyeing him with concern.

A gust of wind suddenly hit him in the head. That seemed to clear his mind a little. What in the world?! That was the first normal thought that he could think of. He looked up at the she-cat who was looming above him. She had dark blue-gray fur and blue eyes. The tom furrowed his brow. He didn't remember knowing anyone who looked like this. The strange place he was in was completely unfamiliar, too.

In fact, everything seemed unfamiliar. The feeling of the wind ruffling his pelt, the piercing pain scorching through his body, the gaze of the strange she-cat, even his own thoughts seemed...so distant. Like he had never felt them before. But what happened? I was just there with...He lost track of his misty thoughts as he tried to remember.

"You knocked yourself out really badly," the she-cat continued blabbering. He groaned quietly, wishing that she would finally shut up. The sudden sounds only made his head ache more. "What happened to you?"

The tom tried to answer once again. "I-I don't..." His voice was raspy and unpleasant, and his words were drowned out by the sudden fit of coughing that shook his body. His throat burned like it was on fire.

"Oh, my bad," the blue-gray she-cat gasped. "Let me give you some water first. Here, drink some!" She nudged a wet moss ball to his paws. The tom spared a grateful glance at the she-cat. It feels like I haven't drank anything in ages. He craned his neck to lap at the moss, the movement sending a fresh wave of pain down his battered body. But right now, he didn't care. The cold, fresh water flowed through his dried throat, cooling his burning body a little bit.

"I'm Smoke. What's your name?" The she-cat asked, tilting her head to the side.

"My name is..." The tom stopped in the middle of the sentence. My name is...what? He curled his claws into the moss underneath him, irritated. Come on!

"You don't know your name?" Smoke asked in dismay, her eyes widening. The tom was starting to panic. His surroundings were completely unfamiliar to him, and so was the whole situation. He fixed his gaze on his orange paws. I have orange paws. And a white spot on my chest, it seems. Wait, why did I think of that?! I must've surely known that before!

"I don't even know who you are! Why did you bring me here?" He snapped at Smoke, who seemed to be taken aback by the sharp words. Hurt flashed in her eyes as she flattened her ears.

"I saved your life, mouse-brain!" She hissed, lashing her tail. "Without me, you would be dead three sunrises ago!"

"What?!" The orange tom croaked, trying to spring up once again. Immediately, agony struck him on almost every part of his body, making him slump back with a hiss.